Why visit Geita
Townapedia lists 2 museums and landmarks, 9 places to eat and 20 places to stay in and around town.
Weather in Geita
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About Geita
Geita is a city and regional capital of Geita Region in northwestern Tanzania. The city is known for its gold trade. Geita, with a population of 318,006 (2022 census), is located in the centre of a gold mining area.
From the Wikipedia article Geita (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Museums and landmarks2
Restaurants and cafes9
Where to stay20
8 more on the map.
Churches and places of worship5
History
In the late nineteenth century, German mineral prospecting identified the gold deposits in the region in the late nineteenth century. However, plans for large-scale gold mining was disrupted due the World War I. Tanzania, which was part of the German East Africa colony, was granted to Britain after the Treaty of Versailles.
The British developed the mine in 1934, and started a large-scale gold mine in 1936. Until its closure in 1966, the Geita mine was the largest gold mine in eastern Africa. Between 1936 and 1961, the year of Tanzania's colonial independence, artisanal mining in the region was made illegal.
Geita regained further prominence in the mid to late 1990s when the Tanzanian government opened the mineral sector to foreign investment. A number of medium to large-scale mining houses, including Ashanti and Anglo-American, conducted extensive exploration activities in the surrounding areas. The most significant outcome of those activities was the construction of the Geita Gold Mine, now owned by AngloGold Ashanti. The Geita Gold Mine is Tanzania's largest gold producer.
Read more of the history
Gold rushes continue to occur in areas surrounding Geita, mainly in and around Rwamagasa and Matabe. These gold rushes have attracted tens of thousands of prospectors from all around the country. Being subsistence miners, their activities are highly unregulated, resulting in dangerous mining practices and considerable environmental destruction, not the least of which are increased mercury pollution and extensive deforestation.
In March 2012, it became the administrative headquarters of the newly created Geita Region.
From the History section of Geita on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Shopping1
Gas and EV charging1
Schools, colleges and libraries14
Healthcare5
Map of Geita
57 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Geita Airport (GIT) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 60 km away.
- Kasamwa 22 km east, about 22 min by car
- Katoro 36 km southwest, about 36 min by car
- Mhalamba 41 km northwest, about 41 min by car
- Buseresere 43 km southwest, about 43 min by car
- Sengerema 52 km northeast, about 52 min by car
- Chato 58 km northwest, about 58 min by car
- Ushirombo 75 km southwest, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Mhango 82 km southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Mwanza 84 km northeast, about 1 h 30 min by car
- Masumbwe 85 km south, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.